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LYON, France – France’s Minister of the Interior, Claude Guéant, has met with INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble to discuss a range of policing issues aimed at safeguarding national and international security.

The visit, which underlines the close relationship between France and INTERPOL whose world headquarters were established in the country in 1946, first in Paris and since 1989 in Lyon, also allowed an overview of the world police organization’s activities across its 190 member countries.

In his first visit to the INTERPOL General Secretariat, accompanied by the Directeur Général de la Police Nationale Frédéric Pechenard, Préfet de la Région Rhône-Alpes Jean-François Carenco, Directeur Central de la Police Judiciaire Christian Lothion and Jean-Pierre Cazenave-Lacrouts, Préfet Délégué pour la Défense et la Sécurité, Minister Guéant was briefed by Secretary General Noble on new initiatives to assist member countries combat emerging threats such as cybercrime, or tackle more traditional crime areas such as drug trafficking and terrorism.

Key among these efforts is encouraging member countries to formally endorse the INTERPOL travel document initiative by granting visa waiver status to authorized personnel travelling on official business using the INTERPOL passport, thereby significantly speeding up any response to a request for assistance. To date 31 countries including France have formally recognized the INTERPOL travel document.

“In today’s globalized and fast-paced world where crime knows no borders, as the world’s largest police organization INTERPOL must be able to react quickly and efficiently,” said Secretary General Noble.

“While our global communications network I-24/7 enables us to do this in the virtual world, we should also be able to provide the same rapid response in the real world when requested for help following a natural disaster or a terrorist attack.

“France remains a leader among INTERPOL member countries in providing INTERPOL with rapid response and constant support in our initiatives worldwide,” concluded the INTERPOL Chief.